I think we can all agree with Andrew Lincoln when he calls the midseason six premiere of The Walking Dead "intense," and "shocking."

For his beloved character on AMC's zombie drama, the episode was an absolute nightmare. Finally, he was moving on from the painful ending to his marriage which culminated with the loss of his wife but was left no choice but to sever his new love interest's hand in order to free his son from an imminent death by walker. "He makes a brutal decision and hopefully it helps in keeping his son and those left alive," Lincoln says in a new featurette released by AMC.

As for Michonne, who sprung quickly into action, Danai Gurira says it is basic instinct for her to look after the Grimes family. "Her reflex and protecting Rick and Carl are the same thing because her reflex is protecting Rick and Carl," she says.

"He's powerless in all of this but what he's not powerless in is harnessing his fury toward the undead," Lincoln says about Rick in the moments following Carl's getting shot.

By the end, when the walkers were put down and Alexandria rallied together, Rick saw the possibilities that come from working together. He sees a larger world.

"I think it's huge that he says he was wrong," Lincoln explains. "I think it's a great change in who he is as a leader. It's the first time that he's felt hope since before he woke up in the coma. Two years he's been in this hell and he gets it: this could be the beginning of civilization and his home."